Yes, and I think that was only possible back then because venture capital firms got involved pretty late. Then, as a result of the dot-com bubble they themselves caused, they burned through a lot of money and destroyed a lot of jobs. Ultimately, they shifted their focus to investing heavily in companies where it was clear how profitable they would become and that their market power could be expanded through acquisitions.

Today, it seems almost impossible to me that a startup without investors could achieve the same level of success as those early Internet companies that have become global corporations. If someone has a good idea, the company is either bought out immediately, or the idea is simply stolen by companies such as Rocket Internet, whose deep pockets quickly ensure that the copy prevails over the original.